Monthly column for youth leaders

Ian is the director of youth and children's ministry training at Oakhill College. EN interviewed him in March last year. But his work of training youth workers is so crucial that I thought I would talk to him for myself.

Having taught for 13 years, Ian then became a schools worker in this area. He worked for a trust representing 12 local evangelical churches, quite a rare project at the time. About ten years in, Ian realised the desperate need for a theologically-based youth work course. A course that really treated the Bible as the heart of what we do, in addition to the excellent practical training around. This thinking formed the basis for the youth work module on the Cornhill Training Course. The idea then found its way to Oakhill, which started thinking about this course.

Why Oakhill College?

Oakhill was the ideal college because it too wanted youth and children's workers to be properly trained and given confidence in handling the Bible. The course is constructed with a theological spine in which the youth and children's workers work alongside the ordinands on the same stuff: Old Testament, New Testament, doctrine, etc. Ian then teaches the youth and children's workers how that applies to their work.

Ian: 'We don't want two things happening. One is the youth and children's workers being the Cinderellas of church work. They are Bible teachers so they should be treated as such. Secondly, we don't want youth workers building work around themselves and their personalities.' Many other colleges focus on community-based work. This course quite consciously sets out to start by discipling church-based youngsters in the view that this will lead to them doing the evangelising.

How is it going?

The course has been going well and is encouraging. A broad range of people joined the course, in terms of age, experience and background. Everyone has really grown and changed. The college has been great, the students made to feel welcome even though they are non-residential. There is a great sense of togetherness between students of this course and the others.

What does it teach?

Because the course views the primary role of the youth and children's worker as Bible teaching, the key thing to spend your time doing is getting into the Word. Once you've done that, other things, such as programme, fun and games, will fall into place. If you see your primary role as building relationships with the kids, meaning getting alongside them, that is where you will invest your time. Ian: 'I think you should invest your time in teaching the Bible; then you will build relationships anyway. Every youth worker should be able to teach the Bible and relate.'

Keeping going

What Bible verses inspire Ian to keep going in youth and children's ministry?
Ian's choices are Colossians 1.28,29; 2 Timothy 3.10-17 and the Parable of the Sower.

Colossians because our aim is to present young people and children as mature in Christ. We want them to grow into mature Christians as well as mature people. 2 Timothy because it says it all and includes those fantastic verses about the Bible. If we truly believe those verses they should affect our aims as youth and children's leaders. The Parable of the Sower because it promises that there will be fruit. Ian: 'All of these key passages that inspire you to ask what am I about, what am I doing, and what's the point in my ministry?'

How would you encourage someone to do the course?

Ian: 'We do view youth work as long term rather than a stepping stone to "higher ministry"... I assume that you really want to be trained for this, in which case this course will provide that. Training that will stretch you and make demands of you, but will in the end put in solid foundations for life.

'Secondly, if you really want youth and children's ministry to be treated properly by churches then you need to get proper training. So that they can have confidence that you are not merely equipped in terms of personality, but in terms of Bible teaching, knowledge and wisdom.'

If you are interested in more information about the Oakhill youth and children's ministry training course try their website: www.oakhill.ac.uk

An interview with Ian Fry

Why Oakhill College?

How is it going?

What does it teach?

Keeping going

Roger Fawcett

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